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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — a box
  6. wake — a trail
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. plane — a tool
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bore — to tire
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bore — to drill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com